


Until Tomorrow

by AutumnsThief



Category: Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Uber Xena, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Post-Apocalypse, Slow Burn, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnsThief/pseuds/AutumnsThief
Summary: Effie (Xena) winds up in the town of Troy where Claire (Gabrielle) patches her up. In a destroyed world full of infected, each day is a fight to survive. The thing is, no matter whether you're inside or outside the walls, you can't promise you'll live to tomorrow. Xena AU loosely inspired by The Last of Us.
Relationships: Gabrielle/Xena
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. Effie

"Are you Effie?"

The dark-haired woman sitting on the medical table nodded.

"I'm Claire and I'm one of the medics here in Troy. I'll be giving you a check up."

"All right."

Effie watched Claire grab a clipboard and start reading down the list. She tapped the end of the pencil against her chin every so often as she filled a few things in. Effie sat there quietly, waiting for the questions she knew were coming, and hoped that it all went by quickly.

"Did your parents stop at just Effie, stranger?" Claire asked as her pencil hovered over the clipboard.

"Ryder."

"Not one of the New York Ryders, I'll assume."

Effie knotted her brows, but Claire didn't raise her eyes.

"Where are you from?"

"Tuscon."

"I mean where did you get here from?"

"Um, Tuscon."

Claire looked up at Effie for the first time, her eyebrow shooting up and hiding beneath her blond bangs.

"Are you serious? I thought Tuscon was clean."

"It was. Then it got hit by drought. Crop died, people went hungry... Things just fell apart later."

"Damn... How did you get here? Car? Horse?"

"Foot. Did catch a ride on a truck once though."

"Wow," Claire said, the clipboard now hanging from her hand, "Are there any other survivors from Tuscon?"

"Dunno. It's just me as far as I know."

"Damn..."

Silence filled the medical tent for a while as Claire looked more closely at the dark-haired woman and Effie just looked at the ground. Effie wasn't as astonished by what she had done as Claire was. Her shoulders were slumped and her head hung as she peered into the ground like she was trying to drill a hole in it. Her dirty, tattered clothes hung slightly on her frame, a testament to stories that could probably drag on for days over coffee or whiskey.

"You do look a little lean for your size," Claire said, her tone a little softer than before, "Have you eaten recently?"

"This morning. Some berries."

"Make sure to visit the dining hall when we're done here."

"Nah, it's all right, it's late. I don't want to bother no one."

"That's an order, Effie."

"Yes, ma'am," Effie whispered.

Effie listened to Claire scribbling a few things down again and fought back the sudden urge to run. She just stared harder at the ground instead.

"Did you meet any tainted on the way?"

"More than once, but they can't tell that tale."

"Really? Sounds like it was quite an adventure to get here."

"Yeah, guess you could say that," Effie replied, a slight, crooked grin forming in the corner of her mouth.

"Did you think it was possible that you were infected in any way?"

"No," Effie said quickly and the smile was gone.

Claire noticed Effie tense up and turn her gaze to the corner of the tent so that Claire couldn't see her face at all. The stranger began to unconsciously pick at her thumb so hard Claire could actually hear it.

"No symptoms or sickness at all?"

"No."

"Okay."

Again the sound of scribbling filled up the room and it was becoming annoying and grated against Effie's ears. Every town or settlement, it was the same thing- a whole list of questions about what she saw and if she got infected. It was like no one in the settlements knew what was going on outside their walls and out in the wilderness. But they had their patrols and stories that came in with travelers or traders and others. She didn't know why everyone was so hell bent on having her relive everything all the time.

"My pack's over there," Effie said, tilting her head toward the opposite corner of the tent, "I won't be needing all that so you can take what might be useful. Jesse always said to grab things while you can."

"Is that your husband?"

"Uncle. Though I can't tell you where he is if you want to ask about that."

"I see. Sorry, it's just your finger..." Claire's voice trailed off as she pointed at Effie's left hand.

"Heirloom."

Claire nodded and turned to the pack and saw that it was nearly bursting at the seams with stuff. The pack formed hard creases where cans were pushing against the fabric and bolts, wires, and ammunition were crammed into the side pockets. There were three hatchets strapped to the pack along with two long knives, a few wooden arrows, and something that looked like a broken fishing pole. A bundle of what looked to be like good quality clothes were tied to the top and an extra pair of boots hung from the bottom. There was a bolt action rifle propped up against the tent pole and a holstered pistol hung up on one of the pegs.

"Got some bandages and pills in the top flap," Effie said.

Claire turned to see Effie had been watching her the entire time. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead cleared her throat and looked back at her clipboard.

"That's very generous, especially for a stranger. You don't need the supplies?"

"I've got enough. I don't get sick."

Claire looked up to see Effie looking back down at the ground, shoulders sagging like they were before.

"You just got here and it already sounds like you're planning to move right along."

"Wasn't planning on staying, that's true."

"Where are you going on to?"

"Was thinking of Toronto."

"Toronto? Well you're definitely taking the long road."

"Yeah well," Effie said, "crossing on this side of the Great Lakes is dangerous and I heard Ontario is basically a no man's land. I figured the only way there is through Montreal."

"We've gotten reports that Montreal has seen a rise in tainted. It's hard to get in or out of there right now."

"Yeah? Well, I guess that's that then."

Effie swung her leg a few times as if she wanted to kick the stones only she could see. Claire now noticed the dried mud and dirt in her hair through the soft glow of the lanterns in the tent. There were dark spots on her face and her fingernails were nearly completely black.

"Whether you stay or not, you'll get a hot meal and bath while you're here," Claire said as she set the clipboard aside, "Now I'm going to have to examine you."

She took a step forward, but immediately moved back when Effie flinched. The dark-haired woman shook her head, took a few deep breaths and finally nodded. Slowly, she peeled off her jacket and flannel shirt until she was just in a t-shirt that was anything but white.

Claire cringed, but quickly covered it up with a cough. She snapped on a glove and stood right in front of Effie.

"Look at me," Claire said quietly.

Effie stared at a random spot on Claire's cheek and followed it no matter how much Claire moved. The medic checked her teeth and mouth, her eyes and ears, and felt for lumps around her neck.

"There's some dried blood in your right ear. Do you hear any ringing or anything like that?"

"No, it's fine."

Claire moved on to the numerous cuts and light lacerations all over Effie's arms and hands, noting each one down quickly on her clipboard. In a few places, she used a damp rag to wipe away the dried blood and dirt to see the extent of the wound, humming all the while.

"Would you mind?" Claire asked.

Effie grunted and raised her T-shirt to expose her abdomen. Claire saw ribs pushing out against black, blue, and yellow skin. Irritated welts pushed up against the blood and dirt that had collected on them.

"Jesus, what happened to you, Effie?" Claire whispered and then shot a tense glance at her.

"You know what tainted are like," Effie said with a shrug and pulled her shirt down.

"Uh-uh," Claire said with a shake of her head, her short, blond hair escaping from behind her ears, "You're going to need a few stitches."

"I'm fine."

"You've bled through your shirts for Heaven's sake."

"I'm good now."

"Please don't argue with me. I'm the medic here and I say you need stitches," Claire said as she walked over to one of the locked cupboards and began pulling out some thread, "You can pull them out later if you don't like them so much."

Effie rolled her eyes and plopped herself on the table. She remained silent as Claire cleaned her wounds and stitched her up. A few times Claire's gaze shot to the side to see Effie staring intently at the ceiling as if she was trying really, really hard to fall asleep. Claire rubbed her tired eyes when she was finally done and she made notes on Effie's stitches and the fact they needed more lamps because she could barely see a damned thing. Before Claire had the chance to get some bandages, Effie had already sat back up and redressed.

"What about your legs?" Claire asked, squeezing a bandage roll in one hand.

"They're good. I promise."

"I see," Claire replied with a sigh and turned to put the medical supplies away, "Well, you may be stubborn, but you would also probably have to be one of my quietest patients ever. So I guess that's good on you, stranger."

Effie just looked at her without a sound, and her gaze looked both friendly and cold.

"Listen," Claire said, tapping the clipboard and trying to find somewhere else to look, "you're free to move on whenever you want, but I think it might be a good idea if you stay for a while and let your body heal a little. God knows it could probably use it."

Claire saw a small grin appear in the corner of Effie's mouth and then disappear just as fast.

"Yeah, I probably could use a little sleep."

"Are you sure your last name isn't 'understatement'?"

"Heh, I think I've heard that one before," Effie said with a very soft laugh, "All right, I guess there are worse places than Troy to get stuck in."

"Well thank you for the high opinion of our town. I'll be sure to quote you on our tourism flyers."

Effie now gave Claire a full smile, but quickly covered her mouth and coughed a few times while she turned her gaze back to the ground.

"So where's this hot meal I'm supposed to have?" Effie asked.

"Right. I'll walk you over if you don't mind?"

"All right."

Effie slid off the table with a grunt and walked over to her gear.

"Whoa, you're even taller than I thought you were. You definitely need to eat," Claire said as Effie came to a standstill and she noticed she was about half a head taller.

"Yeah. Might want to wash first. Don't want to make a commotion in the dining hall," Effie said, rubbing the palm of one dirty hand.

"You're right, I'll take you to shower in the clinic first."

Effie nodded and then looked at all her gear; she could of swore it was three times more than she had brought in and an ache ran up and down her back when she thought of putting it all back on.

"You can leave that here. Strangers can't wear weapons around town and your stuff is safe here anyway. We're a small community; we don't steal."

Effie eyed her for a moment and then shrugged and followed Claire out of the tent and to the showers.

* * *

"Well, you clean up nice," Claire said when Effie reappeared from the showers in her dirty clothes, but with a clean face, hands, and hair.

"Doesn't everyone?" Effie answered and went about redoing her belt.

"I guess so. So let's go get some food," Claire said, starting off on the way to the center of town, "Do you mind if I join you? I'm pretty hungry myself."

"Sure."

Along the way, Claire pointed out different buildings they passed by. There was the pharmacy and herbalist, a blacksmith, a bakery, a chemist that made ammunition.

"You kept the chemist in the middle of town?" Effie asked after her eyebrows shot up.

"We're not military, we only have enough for bullets so it's not that much of a hazard. Plus we keep the ammunition someplace else under lock and key."

Effie nodded and Claire continued, pointing out a guard tower, chapel, and stables. Effie stopped paying attention after the guard tower and took in the town. It wasn't that much different from others she had been in; it was small, but it wasn't all huddled together like some settlements that looked like penguins herded together against icy wind that she had seen in a book once. The houses were wooden, some partly made of stone. Large lamps flickered along the main, dirt roads and near the guard towers and lanterns lit up the rest. Despite the late hour, there were still a few people around, coming in or out from patrol no doubt, and noises from dogs, chickens, and horses broke though the nighttime silence. The town was quite clean, Effie noticed, and there was a quiet, calm air as if there was nothing out of the ordinary happening outside the walls. Effie remembered stopping off at Jackson, not far from Nashville. Jackson was about the same size as Troy, but everyone there was constantly running around, barking at each other as if they were permanently under attack. Effie had stayed there just the night.

Effie had been hesitant when she stopped at Troy's gates. All she had heard about it was that it was a trading town where you could get almost anything from bullets to coffee as well as the best mug of beer that side of the Mississippi. Effie wasn't a fan of trading towns; they were always full of gossip, noise, and under-the-table trade. But the only other settlement she had heard of in that region was Albany and Effie was even less of a fan of clean zones. Troy's guards weren't as aggressive as she thought they'd be when she asked to be let in and so she thought she would just go with it and at least get a safe night's sleep in. As the strain of her pack wore off and her wounds itched less, Effie felt a bit of ease spread across her body. Troy felt like something she needed right now.

"You got an entertainment store?" Effie asked, pointing at "Troy Entertainment. No Not That Kind." with her thumb.

"Yup. Strangers are always surprised by that so I guess it's not commonplace in other settlements. We're pretty proud of that."

"You got movies?"

"Sure. Movies, comics, toys, puzzles, books, magazines, CDs, records, you name it," Claire said with a smile, "We even have some stuff in foreign languages. If it has pictures then no one seems to mind."

Effie walked up to the window and looked at the small display. She could barely make out anything in the weak lantern light, but recognized one comic book with the Witcher swinging his sword on the cover.

"Some of these are old."

"Well no one's printed anything new in years so I guess that's all we get. Maybe the clean zones have new stuff. C'mon, the dining hall is just across the street and I think I smell rabbit stew."

Effie slowly made her way to the hall as Claire sprinted across the street and practically burst through the doors. When Effie came in, the blond had already ordered supper and waved her over to a table. The stranger walked over slowly, aware that only a couple of people were in the hall, but all eyes were on her. She slid into her and hunched over the table like she wanted to fold into herself. When the stew came, she hunched over that even more.

Effie was grateful that they ended up eating in silence. She felt the warm stew settle in her stomach and send warmth throughout her body. Knots in her muscles and stiff joints loosened up and when Effie had finished eating, she let out a long sigh.

"Knew you'd like it," Claire said with a smile, "C'mon, let's let Joey close up and go on home."

Effie's muscles and joints protested against getting up and leaving the warm hall, but she finally managed to drag herself out onto the main street. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and let out another sigh.

"Where can I get a room? Or a tent?"

"Do you have a down sleeping bag?"

"No."

"Well then no tent for you. We had a pretty large group of traders come in a couple of days ago so the hotel is probably all booked up... Listen, if you promise not to kill me in my sleep, I can let you stay with me for the night. You can pay me in news and stories in the morning."

Effie stared at her with wide eyes for a while.

"Are you completely crazy?! You don't even know me."

"Well you don't know me either," Claire replied, putting her hands on her hips, "so just makes the chances of either of us ending up dead equal, doesn't it?"

"But I'm a stranger!"

"Listen, I've lived here most of my life, doing what I do. I've seen a lot of people come and go. If I thought you were a threat, I'd tell you where you could find a tent. So do you want to freeze your ass off or are you coming with me?"

Effie couldn't remember agreeing, but next thing she knew, she was in Claire's living room worrying about getting mud on the floor. While she pulled her hiking boots off, Claire brought her some sheets and a towel and placed them on the wide couch against the wall.

"It's old, but comfy," Claire said.

"It's fine. I can even take the floor," Effie said, curling her toes in when she noticed she had holes in her socks.

Claire huffed, pointed at the couch, and then disappeared into another room to return with a large T-shirt and shorts.

"These should fit you. You need to give your skin some air."

"Thank you," Effie said, taking the clothes and running a hand softly up against them as if they were made from fine silk.

"The privy's out through that door, washroom is on the way. I'll be upstairs," Claire explained as she started to make her way up mostly creaky, pinewood stairs, "Oh, and I have a shotgun up there that I know how to use quite well if that makes you feel more comfortable."

"Right. Noted."

"All right then. Good night, stranger," Claire said from the top of the stairs and disappeared into her bedroom.

"Good night."

Stripping herself out of the clothes that she had worn for the last few weeks felt like a chore and Effie was glad Claire wasn't around to watch her grunt and sigh through it. The clean clothes fit and felt so amazing against her battered skin that she thought she might just die of happiness. The springs in the couch made little noise as Effie stretched her body out. The creaking of the floorboards above her sent her off into an immediate deep sleep with dreams of home and pine trees.


	2. Welcome to Troy

It took looking at the wall clock three times for Effie to realize how long she had slept.

She sat up with a grunt, her muscles and limbs telling her off for all the strain she had put them through. She stretched them through clenched teeth and ran her fingers through her hair a few times, surprised her fingers didn't get stuck in it.

"Well looks like we both survived the night, ey stranger?"

Effie looked over to see a clean, dressed Claire with a steaming cup of something in hand, smiling at her.

"Looks like it," Effie said as she tried to get up and landed back down on the couch with a grunt, "Doesn't feel like it though, damn."

"Did any of your stitches burst?"

Claire left her mug and smile behind and was crouching beside Effie before the latter realized Claire was even moving.

"Nah, I think I'm good. Just sore is all."

"Let me check."

Effie froze while Claire ran her fingers along her stitches. Claire's brows knotted and relaxed a few times and she finally took a step back and folded her arms over her chest.

"Looks like you're right; you're just sore."

Effie nodded and began to run her hands against her bare legs and then slowly pulled a sheet over them.

"Um, I, I'm gonna get dressed and um..."

"Right, that reminds me," Claire said as she tapped herself lightly on the forehead.

A few minutes later Effie was being handed a set of clean clothes.

"They're the same size as the rest so it should all fit you. We can throw yours in the laundry."

"That's all right-"

"Unless you want the entire town staring at you and wondering how many tainted you took down to get to looking like you do, you'll just put those clean clothes on."

Effie just stared at her, gently holding the neatly folded clothes in her hands.

"Well go on now," Claire said as she moved to pick Effie's dirty clothes up off the floor, "There are no flowers or butterflies or pink. I figured it wasn't your color."

Claire froze when she felt Effie's strong grip on her wrist. The moment Claire shot her a glance, Effie let go.

"I'll take 'em," Effie said quietly and scooped up her clothes.

In the rays of light pouring through the windows, Claire had a chance to take a better look at Effie. The tall woman's lean muscles rippled underneath her skin as she walked and Claire realized that whatever happened to Effie, she probably gave just as good as she got. Her legs matched the rest of her body with red scars alongside pale ones and bruises of various colors sprinkled all over like some chaotic and sick work of art. Effie dropped her clothes in the laundry basket near the back door and turned to see Claire watching her.

"What?" Effie asked, pulling down gently on the edges of her shorts.

"Are you limping?"

"I'm sore," Effie replied with a shake of her head, "not broken."

"All right, can't blame a medic for asking," Claire said, raising her hands up in the air and then making her way to the kitchen.

Effie listened to the noise of pots and dishes being washed and set to dry as she put on clean clothes. They were loose, but still a good fit and Effie spent a few minutes enjoying the feel of clean fabric as she took a look around the living room. The floorboards creaked in places loud enough to wake the dead. Faded wallpaper was peeling in the corners and the fireplace looked like it needed a good cleaning. The furniture looked like a collection of odds and ends and that was no real surprise. Effie picked up a photo standing on the small, scratched coffee table beside the couch. The photo was dirty but it was of Claire hugging an older, bearded man with a weather-worn face. Claire seemed to like to smile, but this one was from ear to ear. Effie put the picture back down; sometimes it was hard to remember that people actually had real families.

"You ready to go into town, stranger?" Claire called out from the kitchen.

"Um, sure. Is there a particular reason?"

"Just wanted you to meet the leader of this town," Claire replied, entering the living room as she wiped her hands with a dishtowel, "Any news on what's going on out there is always appreciated. And something tells me that your reports will be a lot more useful than those we get from traders."

"All right, I guess," Effie said, jamming her hands in her pants' pockets.

"Well don't get too enthusiastic," Claire said as she put one hand on her hip, "unless we've made a really bad impression on you and you're ready to leave?"

For a moment Effie remained silent, eyeing the front door. Toronto was closer than ever before, but with the cooler temperatures and oncoming winter it might as well have been on the other coast. She didn't even know if Toronto mattered. She didn't know if the rumors that the Dragonflies were gathering was true. She didn't know if Dylan was even alive. She took a deep breath; her ribs ached.

"Nah," she said quietly, "you've got my clothes and gear."

Claire chuckled. "I'll get you a coat and we can go. There's a sandwich and some tea on the table there so that you don't faint along the way. Lord knows I wouldn't be able to carry you."

Effie practically swallowed the sandwich whole while Claire went into her bedroom. She would have swallowed the tea in one gulp, but it was still hot and she burned her tongue and finally slowed down. It was black tea, she noticed, and not that herbal garbage some traders would sell as a "detox" treatment. Like anyone believed in that anymore.

"Let's go," Claire said, tossing Effie a coat and walking out the front door.

Troy was felt much more like a real town in the light of day. There were people going here and there, talking to each other, making purchases, picking up orders, going to their jobs. Effie noticed that a lot of people seemed to know who Claire was and gave her a passing smile or greeting as they walked by. Effie avoided others' gazes and listened to the hum of the town mixed in with Claire's talking about this and that.

"We're here," Claire said and Effie looked up to see they had stopped in front of an old, wooden church, "Martha works in the vestry when we don't have some kind of dance or something going on."

They walked through the open church doors and across the dusty, wooden floor to the corner of the church. Effie noticed that if there had been any statues or paintings before, they were gone now. It was both funny and sad in a way - dances and music brought a lot more peace to the soul than prayer did now.

"Hey there Daisy, what a pleasant surprise," Martha said as the two women appeared in the vestry's doorway.

"Morning, Mother."

Effie's eyebrows shot straight up and she took a step backwards when she saw the two women embrace.

"What did you drag in this time?" Martha asked when she saw Effie, "Are those Ben's clothes?"

"Mother, this is Effie. She came in late last evening. She said she came straight from Tuscon."

"Tuscon? Isn't that a clean zone?"

"Drought," Effie mumbled as she jammed her hands into her pockets, "then tainted."

"I see," Martha said with a nod, "Well don't just stand there like a deer caught in a Dodge's headlights, sit down."

Claire stifled a giggle as Effie awkwardly sat down on the closest chair and proceeded to primarily look at the floor. Martha gave the tall woman a thorough stare and Effie could swear she could feel Martha's eyes drilling a hole into her head.

"I thought Effie might be able to give us some reliable information on tainted movements and so on," Claire said.

"Well, can you?"

Effie used all her strength to keep her foot from jumping up and down. No matter where she went, it was always the same questions about tainted, stalkers, and supplies. Effie liked to give what she received - in good settlements she passed on more detail, in bad cities she pretended to not really know a thing. Each time she felt like a sponge, being squeezed for something useful and then getting tossed to the side. If she had to be honest, she couldn't really blame them, but it seemed so ridiculous in the grand scheme of things. No matter what Effie might say or know, nothing changed - every day and everyone was a big, fat question mark.

"Look, stranger, if you have something to say then I'll gladly hear it, but I'm not going to pry it out of you."

Effie sighed and wished she had something to occupy her hands with. Finally, she dropped her hands and leaned back in the chair.

"They seem to be everywhere. Psychotics, boilers, wheezers, rattlers...And those are just the tainted."

"You ran into stalkers?"

"I did. That's always a fight I'd rather run from...But I only ran into them twice. Once near Albuquerque and the other near the old Mississippi-Tennessee state line."

Martha nodded and knotted her brows as she folded her arms across her chest. Claire leaned forward in her chair, her eyes never leaving Effie.

"What about clean zones along the way?" Martha asked.

"Tuscon fell. Dallas and Cincinnati were good when I passed through. Other than that, I like to steer clear of clean zones."

"What about other settlements?"

"They're littered all over. Some are doing well. Others you can tell won't be there a year from now."

"Can you mark them on a map?"

"Uh, yeah, most."

"Good. And what about supplies?"

"Well, there are lots of abandoned sites in the valleys and forests. Hard to say what kind of loot they have though. I found some pretty good stuff without really looking."

Martha turned to look at Claire.

"She came in with a pack bursting at the seams and extra gear hanging off every strap she had. Good quality gear too," Claire said.

"Can you mark those areas on a map?" Martha asked, turning back to Effie.

"Sure."

"What about debriefing our patrollers so that they know what they're up against? They could ask any questions about tainted they might have."

"All right."

"Good, good," Martha said, as she shifted forward and leaned against her desk, "So tell me, stranger, do you plan on staying?"

"Um, well..."

"Mother, she just arrived; give the poor woman some room to breathe," Claire said, "At least let her wounds heal. From what I could see, it's a miracle she's alive in the first place."

"All right, all right," Martha said, raising her hands up for a few moments, "You're free to stay or go as you choose. But if you do decide to stay, you'll get a job and earn your keep here. I'll give four days to make up your mind; until then you're our guest."

"Mother!"

"That's fair," Effie said and ignored the look Claire shot her.

"Good. Well, if you need anything, you know where I am. Whatever you decide, let me know first because I always find out everything sooner or later. I prefer knowing sooner."

"Yes ma'am."

"Daisy, show Effie our maps and have her mark them."

Claire nodded and motioned to Effie for them to leave. They left the church in silence and crossed the street to the old post office. The customer windows had been removed, leaving a relatively large hall and the walls were covered in warnings, bounties, maps, and notices.

"We have our patrol briefings here," Claire said as she hunted down some colored pens, "This place is always either crowded or just a mess."

Effie marked different sites with the appropriate colors and then put the pens down when she had marked everything she could remember.

"Wow, that's going to be really helpful," Claire said when she looked at the map.

"Dunno. There were tainted southwest of here. It might be better to scavenge further up north, but I don't know what's up there."

"Any reliable information is good information from what I've found."

Claire knew that Troy had a lot more luck than other settlements. Tucked up in a relatively thick forest, Troy left enough distance between it and other cities to keep the risk of attack by tainted quite low. They had a good supply of game and wood, stone was relatively easy to quarry and bring down, and a large river nearby gave them both water and a source of electricity. The soil was a bit stony, but fertile and let Troy grow a lot of its own food and tobacco and sometimes it even traded some of it off for rarer items like coffee, books and music, fine textiles, or machine parts or gasoline. Troy started off as a shaky settlement, but grew into a stable town under the guidance of Martha and Timothy, her second husband.

"Right, how about we go collect your gear and see if you still have something you could spare?"

Effie nodded and the two women made their way out to the medical tent.

"Uh, who's Ben?" Effie asked quietly, making sure to look straight ahead as she asked, "And Daisy for that matter?"

"Daisy is my favorite flower. I guess it reminds my mother of better times. And Ben's my boyfriend...Well, was my boyfriend. He went on patrol one day and never came back."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right. We weren't a good match and had decided to go our separate ways before he disappeared," Claire explained quietly, "I didn't really know what to do with his clothes. Seemed like a waste to just toss th-"

In a burst of movement, Effie spun around, grabbed a young man by the arm and then flung him over her shoulder, sending him flying through the air and landing in the middle of the street with a loud thud. Claire turned to see Effie crouched down, her jaw clenched, and breathing through flared nostrils. She looked like a wild animal ready to pounce and kept her gaze locked on the man.

"Effie?"

Effie turned to look at Claire and just as fast as it had appeared, the wild animal was gone. The tall woman's eyes went wide and she shot straight back up to her feet. She looked around as people stopped to witness all the commotion.

"Shit, I...I'm sorry, I..."

Effie's hands began to shake and she jammed them into her coat pockets and looked at the ground like she wanted it hide deep within it. Her breathing quickened and she kept blinking madly.

"Damn, lady..." the young man mumbled as he slowly got up and dusted himself off.

"What the hell were you trying to do, Ronny?" Claire asked as she stomped up toward him, "Were you sneaking up on me again?"

"Maybe," he answered, straightening his coat, "Just wanted to put a cricket in your hair is all."

"See Ronny, this is why you have no friends, you're a childish asshole," Claire said and gave him a soft shove, "Get out of here before I decide to shove crickets up your dumb ass."

Ronny mumbled something as he jogged away and the rest of the town slowly went back to its own business. Claire turned back to Effie who hadn't moved or stopped mumbling.

"Damn, I'm sorry...I'm..."

"Effie, look at me. C'mon now, look at me," Claire said and after a while Effie finally did, "It's all right. It was just a reaction. He shouldn't have snuck up on us from behind."

"I didn't mean to."

"It serves him right for being an ass. To be honest, I'm kind of glad, maybe now that lazy man child will leave me alone," Claire said, "C'mon, let's go get your gear."

After a brief wait, Effie finally pushed one foot in front of the other and followed Claire back to the medical tent in silence. The whole way there, Effie commanded her body to stop shaking, but it took its time listening. She forced herself to take long, deep breaths and when they walked into the medical tent, the only thing left shaking were her hands.

"Let's get this into medical storage so we don't bother anyone here. I can help you."

Effie slung the pack onto her back as if it was empty, grabbed her weapons, and was waiting outside the tent before Claire had a chance to say anything. The blond walked down to the other end of the tent and held the door open to a small shack. Effie walked in, dumped her gear on the floor, and started to unpack.

"Hey, are you all right, stranger?"

"Yeah, let's just get this done."

Effie pulled pills, band-aids, and bandages out of her pack along with other things like a pair of scissors, needles, some surgical gloves, a few space blankets, and a couple of tubes and placed them all on the table. Claire took stock of them in a coffee-stained logbook and then stored the supplies in several locked cabinets and chests.

"Here's some other stuff that might come in handy."

With that Effie dumped a handful of wire and thin cables, a funnel, fishing line, a box of safety pins, a roll of duct tape, 3 razors, and a pair of tweezers on the table.

"Don't know if these are any good," Effie said, placing four different tubes of cremes and ointments next to the rest of the supplies.

"Damn, stranger, where did you get all this loot?" Claire asked with wide eyes, "Our patrols don't bring back nearly as much great stuff!"

"Yeah, well, it's from across half the country."

Claire put the rest of the supplies away and glanced at Effie who was just standing there near the door like she couldn't decide if she wanted to stay or go.

"If you've got a minute, I'd like to show you something," Claire said after signing off in the logbook, "Though it's a bit of a walk."

"All right. I like walks."

The women dropped off the rest of the gear and weapons at Claire's house and then Effie quietly followed Claire up the road toward the northern edge of the settlement to the gates.

"Out for a stroll again?" one of the men on guard asked as he tossed Claire a rifle.

"You know me, always wandering around," Claire answered.

He chuckled and motioned for the other guard to help him open the wooden gates. The women walked through and kept going north along a barely visible trail. Soon the mud turned to rock and the walk turned into more of a climb. They slid through narrow openings between boulders and rock faces and meandered uphill through thick pines until they reached a ledge that stuck out above the valley below.

"Wow," Effie said.

"It's quite a view, isn't it?" Claire said as she slung the rifle over her shoulder and smiled at Effie, "I like to come up here sometimes to think or enjoy some quiet. You looked like you could use some of that too."

Effie didn't say anything and just walked up further along the ledge. The air seemed cleaner up there, the world quieter. She put her hands in her pockets and pulled her coat closed to keep out the crisp, chilly breeze.

"From here it doesn't look like the world went to shit," Effie said after a while.

"Well put, stranger," Claire said with a short chuckle and then let the quiet settle in before adding, "How bad is it out there?"

Effie shook her head, looked down at the ground, and kicked a rock. The both of them listened to it tumble down the hillside.

"It depends, I guess. I got this far so it's not impossible... But it just takes that one moment...that one last bullet, that one wrong step, that one second too late... I saw a few of those down there."

"What are stalkers like?"

A visible shiver ran down from Effie's head to her toes.

"Christ, why would you want to know about them!"

"I only saw the damage they did to one of ours once. It was a sight to last a lifetime. I want to know how someone could do such a thing."

"I know stalkers are human, but I don't think of them as people. Some kind of cult-like conviction screwed with their heads making them think that they can save us from all this if we just repent. They're passionate about their 'faith' and just as passionate about making you pay for not believing. I saw what they left behind in Texas - mutilated bodies hanging from branches or nailed to trees...and other things. Sick bastards. Even tainted don't do that. Learned real quick to avoid 'em at any cost."

Effie spit on the ground. She didn't sleep for a whole two days after she saw what stalkers could do. She could hear their chanting somewhere off in the forest then, a hymn just as beautiful as it was chilling. Rarely did someone hear their chant and live to tell the tale.

"Thank you," Claire said softly, "and sorry if it brought back bad memories."

"Well, that seems to be what we have most of nowadays - memories," Effie said with a shrug.

"Jesus, Effie, you're bleeding."

Effie looked down to see a patch of red seeping through her shirt.

"Oh."

"I'm so stupid," Claire said in rush, "You came in half-dead and here I am pulling you up mountains."

"It's all right. It's just a little blood."

"Let's go, I need to patch you up again."

Effie found it much more difficult to keep up on the way down as Claire practically ran back to town. Effie remained silent as Claire nearly flung her onto the table in the medical tent and began repairing her stitches. Claire's smile was gone, replaced with pursued lips and a gaze focused on her work. Effie toyed with the idea of telling a joke, but decided against it and just stared up at the ceiling.

"All done," Claire said and wound a new bandage around Effie's ribs before taking a step back, "Effie, I'm sorry, I was irresponsible. That walk could have waited."

"It's all right. No harm done."

"But there could have been harm done. What if I hadn't noticed and you passed out up there?"

"But you did notice. I'm a big girl. Been through worse," Effie said with a shrug.

With that Effie slid off the table and went to get something to eat, leaving Claire behind squeezing the left over bandage roll with all her might.

* * *

At the beginning, the patrollers were sure Effie's reports would be just as colorful and full of heroic tales as the traders' were. But Effie described the sites objectively and then gave her suggestions as to whether it was worth sending out a patrol to scavenge. She answered any and all of their questions except for the one that asked if she would like to have a drink later on. In the end, the patrollers were shaking her hand and giving their thanks for her reports. When the last one left, Effie sighed heavily and slumped down in one of the empty chairs.

Information was a commodity and she wanted some of her own. When she had asked if anyone had been further north on the road to Toronto, a patroller named Wesley said he had and that the region was crawling with tainted, though no one knew why. Some thought they just came down from further up north as the temperatures fell, others though that maybe Buffalo or Syracuse had fallen, a couple thought maybe Toronto itself had ceased to exist. No one mentioned the Dragonflies. Effie knew that even without the tainted, winter would make it extremely hard to get to Toronto in one piece. Even if she left now and ran the whole way, she might make it to Albany before the first snowfall. That would mean spending the winter in a clean zone or braving it in the wilderness; she couldn't tell which option was worse. Effie ran her fingers through her hair and sighed heavily.

"Was it that bad?" Claire asked from the doorway.

"Nah. Just thinking."

"About what?"

Effie sighed again, got up, and left, leaving Claire to watch her walk down the main street in long strides and disappear behind the buildings.

When Effie reached the end of the street, she turned around and walked all the way down to the other end. She paid no attention to the people and buildings she passed; they were just making it harder to think. At the end of the street she turned back around and continued walking. She finally stopped in front of the church.

"Goddammit," she muttered under her breath and then stomped in.

"Well, well, can't say I was expecting to see you, stranger," Martha said from behind her desk, "but I can't say it's a bad surprise either. How can I help you?"

"Winter's coming and...so...I think I'll stay...for a while..."

"Is that so?" Martha replied and pulled open a file drawer next to her with a screech, "Happy to hear it, stranger. Here, fill out these papers and we can stop calling you stranger."

"Papers? Really?"

"Yeah, I know, but it helps me keep track of things. God knows things are messy enough."

Effie shrugged as Martha handed her a pen and then leaned back in her chair.

"You need a job. Is there anything you're good at other than killing tainted?"

"Killing tainted."

"Heh, a sense of humor, I like that. I'm putting you on patrol then. You'll get a pair of dog tags so that people know who you are around here. That'll give you the right to extra rations on patrol days at Frank's and to carry weapons within the town. Just don't go around using them on people, okay? We've got guards that do that."

"Yes, ma'am," Effie replied from over the paperwork.

"I'll announce you at the town meeting which happens to be tomorrow. Jimmy will assign you to patrols after that. He's in charge of patrols so listen to him and everything will be fine. He'll probably take you to the stables and set you up with a horse or two. He'll probably also want to check your weapons and see if they meet his standards. Just let him."

"Yes, ma'am," Effie replied, handing the form back to her.

"Where are you staying? The hotel?"

"Um, Claire put me up. Hotel was full."

"That girl, always putting up strays," Martha said quietly with a shake of her head, "There's a small house not far from Claire's home. Dark wood and a door so creaky that I can hear it from here. It needs a bit of attention; loose shutters and probably a dirty chimney, but you should be fine. What do you say?"

"Sure."

"Good. If you need anything, you can always drop by Walter's shop. He keeps all kinds of scrap and loose odds and ends since somebody someday might find it useful. You have any questions?"

"No, not right now."

"Great. Welcome to Troy, Effie," Martha said as she got up and extended her hand.

Effie hid a grimace and shook Martha's hand as quickly and lightly as she could. Handshakes meant things were permanent and done with pleasure.


	3. It's Nothing

Autumn breezes turned into winter snowfall while Effie became a constant sight on patrols. Patrollers were glad to have an addition whose nerves were just as steady as her aim and townsfolk appreciated the loot she always managed to drag in. Effie paid both little mind. Despite her growing fame, she kept to herself and could always be found either tinkering with something at home or spending time shooting the breeze, mostly with Claire. The tall woman liked listening to Claire's stories of what went on in Troy while she was gone; she could make the most boring thing sound interesting.

Claire continued pushing Effie into the town's life whether the taller woman wanted it or not. She would drag Effie to a movie on movie night or encourage her to help neighbors when she knew Effie had the skills. She even managed to drag Effie to the autumn town dance held in the old church. Effie spent most of the night propping up the wall, but Claire figured it was a great success she was even there in the first place.

A smile crossed Claire's face as she watched Effie's wounds heal and her bruises disappear. Frank's cooking also began to put a little meat on her bones and some color back to her skin. Effie's stiffness faded and from what Claire had noticed a few times on the playground in the evening, her agility was that of someone 10 years younger.

One day Claire mustered up enough courage to ask Effie about the things she saw on patrols and during her trek. Not without hesitation, Effie would tell her what it was like to encounter tainted or scavenge for food and supplies out in the wilderness. When she'd asked why the blond was interested in the tainted, Claire would say something about medics needing to know these kind of things or would just pretend she never heard the question. Effie would shrug and move on.

It wasn't much later when patrols were being planned out for the next two weeks that Claire volunteered to everyone's surprise. She thanked the heavens that no one asked why; the post office was stuffy enough as it was. Martha had given her a serious talking-to, but only sighed in the end, embraced her, and told her to be careful.

The morning of her patrol, Claire woke up far ahead of time; she couldn't sleep. She walked over to Frank's, taking in the sharp morning air that almost glistened in the rising winter sun. She enjoyed the quiet that contrasted with her racing thoughts. Frank gave her a solid, fried breakfast and a few sandwiches and dried fruits for the road, but she just nibbled a bit of her eggs and gave up. She pulled out a clean handkerchief and rolled up the breakfast sausages and bread and tucked them into the side pocket of her backpack. She was lucky - she was given one of a couple of tactical backpacks patrollers had brought back when they stumbled upon an overturned military jeep to the east. With most of the medical supplies put away in the pouches attached to the outside, she could afford to carry more inside her pack.

Claire left Frank's before the rest of the patrollers walked in for their breakfast and rations, and walked down to an old playground on the edge of the city. She sat down on a swing and let her thoughts drift away with the back and forth motion of it. She began to wonder if Effie had lied to her in typical heroic fashion; maybe patrols were much more gruesome and terrifying and Effie just didn't think she could handle the truth. She remembered times when Ben would return from patrols with a grin and a huge appetite, but there were some times that he would come back and be real quiet and just want to keep to himself. A couple of days later, he would kiss her forehead, tell her he was all right now, and then go off to play cards with his buddies. He had never prepared her for the day when he didn't come back.

With a long sigh and a shake of her head, Claire pushed herself off the swing. The cold was cutting into her jeans and gloves, the past into her mind. She walked down to the stables and slowly mingled her way into the morning commotion of patrol.

"Was wondering where you were," Effie said when she spotted Claire approaching her.

"I'm here."

"I've got Argo ready," Effie said, patting the horse on the neck, "You?"

"I've probably got Shimmer. I'll be right back."

Effie took Argo out to the other patrollers gathering in front of the main gate. She doubled checked her that her knife and mining light were securely attached and that her rifle was loaded. A hatchet hung from Argo's saddle because you just never know.

Claire walked up beside them, and Effie noticed Claire's hands shaking as she buckled her saddlebags tightly.

"Was a little surprised you volunteered for patrol. Didn't think it was your thing," Effie said as she mounted up.

"I used to patrol more. Then I stopped."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. The thought just seemed to scare me a lot before," Claire said slowly, "It doesn't seem to scare me that much anymore."

"Yeah? Tainted vanilla to you now?"

"It's not that. They'll always give me the absolute creeps... I don't know. It's just...If things go south, you'll protect me, won't you?"

A long moment of silence hung between them and Claire was ready to shrug and ask them to just go already.

"Yeah." Effie's reply had been quiet, but her posture grew stiffer and creases formed on her forehead as she peered out at the wilderness and her brows furrowed. "Stay close."

Jimmy hollered out his typical uplifting speech as if he was a general taking an army into battle. Claire almost felt like he was. The ten patrollers were split into five pairs, each with their own sector to comb and checkpoint to reach. If all went well, they'd be back in about 24 hours.

* * *

It took a good hour for Claire to stop jumping at every single noise she heard. At first Effie would calm her down, saying that it was only a twig or squirrel or something, but soon gave up. They trotted through relatively sparse forest for about three hours until they reached an old, decaying stand with a broken sign that read "Natural Maple Syrup" in red paint.

"Hungry?" Effie asked.

"Famished."

"All right. This is a good a place to rest as any."

Claire sat down on a dead tree and the stand creaked as she leaned against it. She started on her first sandwich while Effie took a closer look around.

"Quiet as it'll ever be," Effie said as she sat down next to Claire with a huff.

It was no picnic with tainted possibly behind every tree and the cold trying to make its way under their pants and jackets. Effie washed down the last of her sandwich with some tea from her thermos and looked at Claire who was staring out into the distance.

"Is it like it was with him?"

"What?" Claire asked and turned to look at Effie, "How did you know?"

"People talk," she replied with a shrug, "We can talk about something else or not at all."

"I guess it's the same," Claire said after a long silence, "and it's also different. I don't know how to describe it. I feel safer than I thought I would."

Effie only nodded and got up with a sigh.

"Let's get going."

After about 30 minutes the road grew wider, but the trees were thicker and Claire noticed Effie watching them with intense concentration. Claire began to fidget in her saddle and fought back the urge to look over her shoulder and check if she could still see Troy. Soon the road brought them to a small area of wooden cabins and lodges. It would have looked quite idyllic if not for the overturned tables, broken windows and doors, and destroyed vehicles littered across the parking lot and property.

"Let's take a look around and see if there's some treasure left behind," Effie said as she dismounted and slid her hatchet into a loop on her belt.

Effie shrugged her gun into her hands while Claire slowly slid off her horse.

"You just gonna stand there and hug Shimmer the whole time?" Effie asked, her raised brow disappearing beneath her winter cap.

"No, of course not," Claire answered hurriedly, taking a small step away from the horse, "I just...I just...Nevermind. You lead the way."

"All right. Let's check the houses first. Stay close."

They cautiously made their way through the cabins, one by one, picking up all kinds of supplies along the way. Claire watched as Effie would push cabinets, look under tabletops, or slice through sofas to sometimes find stray pills, coins, or other odds and ends. Soon Claire was doing the same. They hit a real jackpot when Effie uncovered a false bottom in a desk drawer and pulled out an old pistol complete with cleaning kit.

They had gone through all the lodges without a hitch. They swept through the parking lot, not really finding anything very useful. It was when they got to what looked like some kind of storage shed that Effie froze. She crouched down and trotted over to the nearest overturned bench and took cover behind it.

"What-"

Effie placed a finger against her own mouth and Claire swallowed the rest of her sentence. Effie fumbled around for a rock and then flung it with all her might against the tin roof of the shed. A faint growl was heard in response. Effie nodded and Claire's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. Effie peaked around the bench and took another look at the shed and surroundings. She hurled another stone and heard another growl.

"It's too calm for a psychotic," Effie whispered as she turned back to Claire, "and seems too quiet for a wheezer."

"Boiler?"

"Probably."

"What do we do?"

"Kill it," Effie said with a shrug, "We kill them all."

Effie first thought about splitting up and attacking from each side, but one look at Claire's pale face made her toss the idea.

"We'll go through that side door," Effie whispered, pointing to the tin door in view, "Stick to the walls and we'll go around. Boilers don't hear or see that well, but stay quiet and out of sight anyway. Keep close, okay?"

Claire nodded and took a few deep breaths.

"Here we go."

The pair snuck up to the door where Effie yanked on the handle a little to gauge if the boiler wasn't right behind the door. They crept in and Claire practically glued her back to the wall. The only light came from gaps between the walls and roof and Claire paid special attention to follow exactly in Effie's footsteps. The floor was slippery from frost and God only knew what else and Effie was thankful that she had her new boots. About halfway around the storage shed, the breathing and groaning of the tainted grew louder. Effie paused and tried to make out the surroundings in the near total dark. Barrels and boxes were strewn all over the place farther off, and they were standing behind the tainted who didn't seem to be moving. Effie turned to Claire, drew a line across her own throat, and then silently made her way up to the boiler.

The smell of the boiler grew overwhelming and she clenched her teeth hard as she fought back the urge to gag. Effie gripped her knife more tightly; a smell this strong meant that some of the boils must have popped and were seeping toxic pus. One step more and she'd jump on its back and jam her knife into the base of its skull. But right before, the boiler turned around and looked Effie straight in the eyes. There was a split second of surprise on both sides before Effie slammed her knife right through its throat and it let out a gurgled scream. And then Effie heard another scream close by.

"Flashlight!" Effie yelled to Claire as she yanked out the knife and sliced into the boiler's neck a few more times before it finally fell.

Claire flashed the light left and right, trying to find the other tainted. Effie noticed it running at her from the right. At the last moment, she hopped to the side and swung behind the boiler, driving her knife between its neck and shoulder. The boiler's momentum dragged Effie a few feet before the knife was torn out and the tainted let out a deafening scream.

"Shoot it!"

Claire fumbled with the flashlight, placing it on a nearby box and took aim with her rifle. The boiler was already charging at Effie and the tall woman made the same maneuver, but this time hung on to the tainted and plunged her knife in and out of its neck with a sickening, sucking sound. Between her heavy breathing and the tainted's dying cries, Effie barely heard Claire's yelp.

Switching on the light hanging off her jacket, Effie could see a third, big boiler had rammed Claire into the wall and the rifle between them was the only thing keeping it from sinking its teeth into her. In movements so smooth that it almost looked like a dance, Effie threw her hatchet with deadly precision, making it land in the tainted's shoulder. She covered the distance between them, jumped on the back of the tainted, and used one hand to pull the tainted's face to the side and the other to slam her knife into the tainted's neck. It let out a howl and stumbled backward, desperately flailing its arms about, trying to get Effie off.

"Shoot it!"

Claire absently wiped her face and aimed with her rifle, her arms and hands shaking.

"I can't!"

Effie growled, plunged two fingers into the tainted's eye and stabbed it viciously until it finally dropped to the ground. Effie crouched down, listening for any other tainted, flashing her light around all the corners of the shed. After a minute of silence, Effie stood back up.

"Let's get out of here," she said as she yanked her hatchet out of the dead tainted.

Claire trotted behind Effie until they were back outside in the daylight. As soon as the door shut behind them, Effie whirled around and stood face to face with Claire.

"Do you want to get me killed?" Effie asked in a dangerous, low tone that Claire had never heard before and that made her take a step back, "Why didn't you shoot the damned thing?"

"Everything happened so fast," Claire blurted out, "and I could barely see a thing. I was afraid of accidentally shooting you."

"I'd rather that happen than get eaten by a boiler."

"It was too dark, I didn't see all of them, it just all happened so fast."

With each word Claire began to shake more violently. She grabbed her sides as tears rolled down her dirty face. Effie's stern gaze softened when Claire bent over and vomited on the ground. She retched one more time before wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Hey, you all right?" Effie asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

Claire didn't see Effie approach or her knotted brows; she didn't notice the change in her tone.

"Let me take a look at you."

Claire didn't move as Effie checked her for bite marks or any other wounds. The shorter woman still clutched her sides and stared at the pool of her vomit.

"You're good," Effie said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good."

"Hey," Effie said softly, putting a hand on Claire's shoulder, "You're all right. We're alive, they're not. That's all that matters right now."

Claire said nothing, but Effie could feel Claire's shoulder begin to shake and the medic could no longer hold back her sobs. Effie didn't say a word or make a move; Claire practically fell into her arms herself. Effie's first reaction was utter surprise, but then she relaxed and held her gently while Claire sobbed and clung to the taller woman as if she was drowning. Effie waited until the tears slowed and Claire's breathing went back to normal. The medic pulled away and wiped her face again with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry. This isn't the time and place for acting like a stupid, little girl. Jesus, I almost got you killed and I'm crying about it."

"We're alive, the rest doesn't matter," Effie said with a shrug.

Claire looked at Effie. There wasn't a single trace left of the deadly machine she had seen in the shed. It had been both mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time and she had questions, but didn't know how to ask them. She looked down at her dirty hands and the rest of her clothes and shook them out.

"Jesus, I'm a mess," Claire said with a scowl on her face, "and I stink."

"Yeah, boilers are pretty nasty. But at least it's not pus."

"How do you know? I'm filthy."

"Because you'd probably be screaming in agony about now. The stuff works like acid," Effie said, rubbing her right arm, "Come on, let's try to get some of this crap off of us."

They walked over to a larger patch of snow, took handfuls of it, and rubbed it across their clothes. They weren't clean afterwards, but they didn't smell so bad and their gloves and jackets were less sticky. Effie watched Claire take extra time to scrub down her jacket and her thin gloves; she finally pulled the gloves off and tucked them in her pocket. The medic took deep breaths and sometimes closed her eyes for a while before opening them again and sighing.

"You sure you're okay?" Effie asked and Claire spun around to look at her, "We can go back if you want."

"I'm not going back," Claire replied with a shake of her head.

"All right. Let's go. Hopefully at the checkpoint we can get a bath."

They reached the checkpoint a little after sunset in silence. Claire checked the ground floor of the forester's lodge while Effie did a sweep of the rooms upstairs. Once they were confident it was clear, they dropped their packs and both sighed in relief. Effie took the horses to the old garage and gave them some water and feed while Claire set about getting a fire going and some food ready. Effie returned to see Claire still hunched over the fireplace, cursing the shaking matches in her hands.

"Here, gimme those," Effie said gently, taking the matches away from Claire.

"My hands are frozen."

"Survival rule number seven: always carry two pairs of tough gloves."

"Number seven? What are one through six?" Claire asked as faint flames began to light up the lodge and spread the first slivers of warmth.

"Ah, ah, ah, not all at once. Stick with me and you'll learn 'em all."

Effie turned and Claire thought she saw a faint smile on her face. For the second time that day, she froze. There was nothing to smile about, there was more than enough to yell and argue about.

"You wanna hear survival rule number one?" Effie asked and Claire nodded, "Eat or you'll die."

"Oh geez, you're right, sorry," Claire said and scrambled to her bag to pull out their rations and a small pot.

They heated up some beans and bacon, which they ate with a thick slice of bread. While Claire finished up eating, Effie went in and out, bringing shovelfuls of snow into a large vat in the back room. Every once in a while, Claire would take a pot of hot water and pour it into the vat to help the snow melt faster. In the meantime, Effie showed Claire how to get sticky boiler grime off of fabric by using a dull razor.

"We were lucky, you know?" Effie said as she drew the razor across Claire's jacket and picked up a thin layer of grime, "One of those boilers was already bursting. Those are the worst."

"Yeah...Listen...I'm sorry about what happened back there with the tainted. I just froze."

"Look," Effie said, putting the jacket down and looking at the medic, "yeah, you froze. It happens. The point is for it not to happen again. We survived, we move on."

"I mean, I'm a medic, I can't-"

"Beat yourself up about it. You'll drive yourself crazy. And me."

"Effie, this isn't funny."

"I know that. Look, we have a patrol to finish. Tell me I can count on you and I will."

Claire looked at her in confusion. She was waiting to hear that it was harder for small women and that it was to be expected from a rusty medic out in the wilderness. It was nice she tried, but it just didn't work out and her place was in the medical tent were she can do more good. At least that's what Ben had told her twice before. When his patrol returned without him, she demanded they tell her what happened. They were ambushed by tainted and he had got hurt pretty bad, they said, there was nothing they could do. Claire spent months wondering if she had been there then maybe she could have saved him. And then she would laugh at herself.

"Well?" Effie asked.

"Yeah, you can count on me."

"Good. Now I need to find some damn velcro."

While Claire bathed, Effie created a velcro fastener for the flashlight that Claire could mount on the top of her shoulder strap. While Effie bathed, Claire sat by the fireplace and wrote in her journal, a thing that felt so foreign and yet so familiar out in the wilderness.

"I wouldn't call myself clean, but at least I don't stink like Death's bad breath," Effie said, as she left the back room, rolling up her sleeves a little.

Claire chuckled and Effie threw a few more logs on the fire.

"Hey, what is that?" Claire asked after a while, noticing what looked like a burn on Effie's wrist.

"Oh, that. It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing."

Claire took hold of her forearm despite Effie's protests and pulled her sleeve up higher. She looked up at Effie.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"The boiler was really damn old...But I took care of it. Barely hurts. It's no big deal."

Effie tried to pull away, but Claire kept hold of her hand and fixed a stern gaze on the taller woman's blue eyes.

"I'll tell you if it's a big deal or not."

With one hand, the medic fished out some gauze, a bandage, water, and cream. She cleaned the reddened skin carefully in the light of the fire, covered it with a thin layer of cream, and bandaged it up. Effie watched her in near admiration. Claire's moves were so delicate and exact; Effie would have never had the patience for it. They were silent, but she could sense the blond's admonishment in her stiff back and tense shoulders. She felt like she should say something, but she couldn't find a single word that made any sense. Green eyes looked into hers and she felt much like a butterfly on a pin.

"Don't keep things from me again."

Claire turned away and put away her supplies and went about spreading out their bedrolls near the fireplace. They lay down without another word and fell into a dreamless sleep.

The rest of their patrol was uneventful; the only tainted was a psychotic that Effie noticed from far away and took down with a rifle shot. Their bags were stuffed with supplies and Claire could feel the straps of her pack beginning to dig into her shoulders. It was mid-afternoon when Effie pointed to Troy in the distance and Claire gave a relieved, heavy sigh. They had made it, but Claire had nothing to show for it. She looked at Effie and wondered if things would change once they passed the walls; walls had a tendency of changing everything.

* * *

When they went back to report on their patrol, Effie did most of the talking. She stuck to the facts, the supplies they brought back, and how much ammunition they used. That was all that was important as far as Effie was concerned. Martha asked her daughter a lot of questions about being back on patrol and soon Claire admitted to having froze and almost getting them both killed. Martha gave her a strong hug and comforted her with similar words to Effie's. But like most concerned mothers do, Martha shared her worry with her husband and he shared it with a buddy and after two days, the whole town knew that Claire had freaked out on patrol. No one said a word, but she could see it in their eyes and heard it in the tone of their voice.

At first she was furious, but then realizing there was nothing she could do about it, Claire decided to be an adult about it and just take it to the chin. Effie had taken a week off of patrolling to work on her drafty house and to mend her gear so Claire decided to take a break from patrolling too and spend more time in the medical tent. But one morning Effie mentioned that she would be going to the patrollers' meeting the next day and Claire only nodded. After a whole day of biting her lips and picking at her nails, Claire decided she'd do the same.

The normally talkative patrollers went quiet when Claire walked into the post office, but soon one coughed and another lit a cigarette and they acted like she wasn't even there. Jimmy strolled in with maps and reports and they went about the business of getting up to speed on the perimeter and plans for the next patrols. Jimmy's Texan accent hung in Claire's ears, but she didn't register the individual words and she spent most of the time staring at a gap in the floor planks. Until it came to her.

"All right so who wants the medic?" Jimmy asked.

A couple of patrollers started to scribble away in their logbooks or maps, others looked at the floor, others at the walls. Jimmy put his hands on his hips and sighed as a redness crept up Claire's neck and spread across her face. She fought hard against the urge to run out.

"I do."

The whole room turned to look at Effie leaning up against the wall in the corner with her arms crossed. Jimmy opened his mouth, but then closed it and shrugged.

"That's that then. Y'all know what to do tomorrow. Get outta here."

The patrollers spilled out of the post office when Effie felt a yank on her arm.

"I don't need your pity," Claire said with a stern look on her face, "I know what I did and I can take the consequences."

"Pity? You think I want you on patrol out of pity?" Effie asked, her eyebrows shooting up, "Claire, I need someone I can trust out there."

"But I-"

"If I thought you'd really get me killed, I would've stayed silent. There are better ways to die," Effie said, "So get your gear together and bring thicker gloves this time."

With that Effie turned and left. Claire wanted to run after her, but she didn't know what she would have said.

"Fine then," she muttered and stomped out of the post office and back home.


	4. Teach Me

Winter hit them hard that year. Effie would stand in the window, watching the snow pile up in yet another blizzard, with crossed arms and thankful that she had stayed in Troy. It was one of the few things she thought she might have actually done right over the last year. In conditions like these even patrolling was hard and when the snow drifts started getting waist-deep, Jimmy relented and agreed to fewer patrols. Even tainted couldn't get through snow like that.

Effie didn't mind the fewer patrols as much as she thought she would. A few of the patrollers changed their chit chat to just saying hi since Effie took Claire back out on patrol. It was something about letting feelings get in the way instead of just being smart about it, one of them had told her later as he walked away with a shake of his head. She had just stood there, biting on her lower lip until she finally just sighed and went home.

Home.

Effie took a look around. It was livable and almost luxurious compared to anywhere else she had stayed since she left Tuscon. She had fixed up the shutters and plugged various cracks and holes in the walls and roof that had made it so drafty before. She had washed and hung the old curtains, fixed the wobbly table in the kitchen, oiled the rusty door hinges. The floor still squeaked something awful, but she didn't mind it that much. She had a place to sleep, to relax, to work, to think. It all almost made her feel welcome, like she belonged. It even had a small square of land in the back and Effie often toyed with the idea of turning it into a garden until she remembered that she wouldn't be staying that long.

A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts.

"Hey," Claire said when Effie opened the door, "I made some rabbit stew. I was wondering if you were hungry and wouldn't mind some company."

"Sure, come in."

Effie couldn't remember the first time Claire came by with a home-cooked meal, but it had quickly become a sort of habit. Despite becoming a routine, Claire always acted like Effie might have something else better to do and asked to come in. At first they'd just eat and Claire would do most of the talking while Effie would nod and listen quietly. But soon that didn't seem to be enough, and they'd sit down after their meal and read a comic book together. Just the other day, Claire brought over a beat-up, old box with "Scrabble" written across it in faded, white letters. The medic had heard it was a game about making words out of letters and gathering up points. Some of the letters were missing and a couple of days later, Effie handed Claire a handful of small, smooth stones with the missing letters etched into them. That was when Claire learned that Effie could carve into stone and even better into wood.

"You know what, Effie? I'm glad you stumbled into Troy," Claire said that one evening as she was leaving to go back home, her pocket full of smooth stones.

Effie never replied, but the comment kept her up that night and most other nights too. She had heard a lot about not having time and lines that shouldn't be crossed and rules she should remember. She'd reply with nods or shortages of her own; all anybody was interested in was how much time was left before she was gone. But Claire's comment was entirely foreign and Effie couldn't decide whether translating it or just keeping it foreign was better. She managed to always fall asleep before finally deciding.

But tonight it was just stew in the medic's hands so Effie patiently waited for the conversation she knew was coming.

"Is Jack still being an ass?" Claire finally asked, "I saw you went in there to buy some nails."

"I guess," Effie answered with a shrug.

"What is his problem?"

"Dunno. Don't really care either. Let him mind his own patrol."

"I messed up. Who doesn't mess up a few times? And I go back out there just like the rest of them, but now it's somehow different. I don't get it. They have no right to judge me, they weren't even there. The only person who can judge me is you."

"No," Effie replied, shaking her head, "I needed to decide whether we were safe out there on patrol together. I decided we were. I was right. That's just that. I'm not gonna lose sleep over the fact someone wants to be anal about it."

"You're right...It's just so irritating. I've lived here ever since I can remember and all that just goes up in smoke because I'm not perfect? Like I'm suddenly different somehow and not the woman they knew."

"Claire, it's no use worrying about what others think. Some will love you no matter what you do, others will be asses no matter what you do. You can't control it. Best to spend time on things you can control."

"Such as?"

"Such as filling up our empty bowls. The stew's delicious as usual."

Claire blinked a few times and Effie almost thought she saw her blush.

"Oh, thank you," she said softly as she ladled out more stew.

* * *

Claire plunged her hands into her jacket pockets as far as they would go as if that would protect her from the wind trying to freeze her to the bone. She remembered winters that were snowy and those that were windy, but she couldn't remember a winter that threw both of those at them with a vengeance. She watched a few townspeople shoveling the snow off the middle of the road and pathways. When they'd finish, they'd go back to their houses and the wind would pick up again. They'd come back in an hour or so to see the wind always had the last say.

The medic took extra time to stomp out her boots once inside the church. She looked up at the old cross standing where the altar used to be. It was there because no one knew what to do with it. It made Claire wonder what had happened to them - was it God that left them or were they the first to leave? Neither option made any sense to her.

"Is that you, Daisy?" she heard Martha call out.

"Yeah," Claire replied, tearing her gaze from the cross and walking over to her mother.

She sat down and waited for her mother to be ready to listen. Martha was always on the go, in a rush, a million things on her mind. Claire never knew how much of it was actually the consequence of running the town and how much was for show. Timothy was a good man and helped Martha out more than she wanted, but he never seemed to be in much of a rush anywhere. Claire would laugh that Martha could take a run around the whole town and come back to find Timothy hadn't moved an inch. He had the time to ask how the kids were doing or if the strawberries in the garden were already ripe. He had a memory for that kind of thing and people always appreciate being remembered. Martha stuck to the books, reports, and calculations.

"You have the monthly medical report?" Martha finally asked, outstretching her hand.

Claire handed it over and waited.

"I don't like these numbers," Martha said as her eyes skimmed down the page, "Normally I'd asked if this is right, but I know you counted three times."

"Four."

"Damn it. We don't have any old sheets or clothes we can use for bandages?"

"With a winter like this, everyone's wearing every last scrap of fabric they have," Claire said, "With traders and patrols few and far between and with a rise in injuries, things are tight."

"What do you suggest?"

"We could rummage through supplies and see if anything can't be repurposed," Claire replied, folding her arms over her chest, "but I don't think that will help much."

"Patrol?"

"Yeah."

"Where?"

"I was thinking maybe the clinics in Pine Creek?"

Martha froze for a moment as if she was waiting for Claire to burst out laughing and tell her it was a joke.

"We rarely patrol northeast of here. God knows what you'll find there."

"It's our best shot at the moment. From what I remember, the tainted were cleared out in the end and it's too remote to get any new ones. Besides, I won't go by myself."

"Can I have a day to think about it?"

"I know that means 'no'. Talk to Timothy about it. I'll come by tomorrow to finish off convincing you."

"All right, all right," Martha said, raising her hands up, "I know when I'm beat. But, really, let me get comfortable with the thought first. I worry about this whole town, but I worry about you ten times more though I can't show it."

Claire smiled and nodded.

"Good. Listen, I need to stop by the Masons now. Care to walk me out?"

Claire nodded and watched her mother begin to arrange the mess on her desk. There was a potted plant that sat on the edge of it, long dried and dead though still an odd shade of green. Claire never understood why her mother didn't just throw it away, but never really asked about it.

"You know dear," Martha said as she filed some papers away, "I don't think I ever told you how proud I am of you."

"Proud?"

"You had that one patrol go wrong, but you didn't let it define you. You pushed through it and came out the better for it."

"Oh," Claire said, "um...well..."

"You generally seem to be different," her mother continued.

"Different?"

"It's like you're less scared of things than before. It's like you hold up your head a little higher."

"You really think so?"

"Mhm. Tim also noticed it. He thinks it might have something to do with Effie."

"Effie?"

"Well, she is your friend, isn't she?" Martha asked as she packed a few things in her bag, "You two spend a lot of time together and she's a cougar of a woman, they say. Maybe a little of that is rubbing off on you."

"Oh," Claire said and watched her mother pull her coat on, "Maybe it is."

"I think that's nice. As long as you don't get reckless. I don't need another dead hero."

Claire still remembered the day they dragged her bloodied parents in through the gates. Martha was crying, holding Patrick by the wrist and yelling at him to stay with her. They had tried to pull her away, but she wouldn't let go. She sobbed out something about an ambush, about getting cornered, about him coming to save her like the stupid hero he thought he was. She kept begging him to hang on for two days and he did. The third day he stopped listening and Martha stopped crying. Claire remembered her mother holding her hand too tightly when they turned her father into ashes. Claire didn't understand any of it. They had always called him Lucky Irish; he didn't seem to be all that lucky then.

Martha hugged her daughter goodbye and went off towards the corner of town. Claire just stood there for a while next to the church door. How long had it been since Effie showed up in Troy? Could a few months make that much of a difference? And why was there a difference that needed to be made? Wasn't she fine just the way she was? Every question brought up another one and soon she began to pace. Pacing around one of the main streets made little sense, so Claire decided to pace right on up to Effie's house. By the time she got there, her hands had already balled into fists and she pounded on the door. She didn't even let Effie say hello.

"Do you think I'm some charity case that needs your pity and attention?" Claire asked, "Is that it?"

"What?" Effie asked.

"I'm asking if you think I'm some loser who needs your attention. Do you think I need to change and be more like you?"

"Oh, okay," Effie said after a while, "Let me get my coat."

"What do you need your coat for?"

"I want to look for whatever it was that bit you in the ass on your way here."

Effie crossed her arms over her chest while Claire just stared at her long and hard.

"I don't know whether to laugh or slap you," Claire finally said.

"Do whichever you feel like doing."

Claire stared at her for another long while and finally felt her hands starting to relax. With a short, forceful sigh, she turned on her heel and walked away.

She found herself back on the steps in front of Effie's door that same evening. She scratched her head a few times while she ran over apologies that all sounded useless in her head. She raised her hand to knock on the door when she heard music coming from the house. The guitar played a soft yet sad melody and soon after, an equally sad voice joined in. Claire stood transfixed; even if she told everyone in town, they probably wouldn't believe her. A part of her wanted to run home, a part wanted to open the door and make the music stop, but most of her just stood there listening. The song suited Effie; it suited the battered house, the freezing snow, the chilly wind, and the world that had completely gone down the drain. The only thing that felt in any way out of place was Claire.

The medic took a step back as if the door burned her without even having been touched. The wood beneath her let out a loud creak and the music halted. Claire held her breath and waited. A few moments later, Effie opened the door and just stood there, looking at Claire calmly. The medic said nothing and to the unknowing passerby, they looked like two life-like statues that winter had frozen over to later admire.

"You wanna come in?" Effie finally asked slowly.

Claire nodded and walked in, her gaze firmly fixed to the floor.

"What brings you by?" Effie asked as she leaned against the closed, front door.

"I...I...I didn't know you played guitar."

"You heard that? It's nothing really. Just a couple of songs I learned."

"They were beautiful even if they did sound sad."

"Yeah, well, you know me - I'm not exactly the life of the party."

"Well I can't really say there's anything to be ridiculously overjoyed about either nowadays. Where did you find the guitar? It's beautiful."

Effie gripped the doorknob behind her tightly as she watched Claire approach the guitar and run a gentle finger down the guitar neck and strings.

"Home," Effie said softly.

Claire turned her gaze to the patroller and immediately pulled her hand away from the instrument.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's all right," Effie said with a shake of her head, "My dad taught me a few chords and my mother taught me to carry something of a tune. The rest just kind of came out itself. I figured you were going to ask."

Claire felt her face grow hot as her gaze once again darted to the floor for a few moments.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"You didn't. It's a fair question," Effie said, pushing herself from the door, "You wanna, um, hold it or something?"

"Me? Oh," Claire replied, switching her gaze between the guitar and Effie, "I don't want to break it."

"It traveled across the country. I think it can handle you."

Effie quietly picked up the guitar and handed it over to Claire who held it gently like a newborn baby.

"Come on, nobody holds a guitar like that."

"Yeah, you're right," Claire replied with a small grin.

The medic held the guitar properly. It was lighter than she had expected and it felt like it was just waiting to play a song. She looked at Effie who nodded and the medic ran her right thumb down the strings, getting a mixture of different sounds that made her grimace.

"I can teach you how to play a little...if you want."

"Really?" Claire said, her eyes growing wide, "I haven't scared you off with that performance?"

"Everyone starts at the beginning," Effie said with a shrug, "Ain't nothing to be scared of."

Claire put the guitar down. She wanted to burst into laughter; all her life she had been told the world something to be scared of. Everyone had to be useful, brave, and selfless because that was the only way the last of humanity had a chance of survival. The chosen and the brave went out on patrols or became traders; they were courageous and stupid enough to be free. They were the heart of every settlement, pumping life in and out of the walls that no one normal would ever want to leave. The rest were too old, too young, or too scared; they were the ones who stayed in town and played roles that they had made up for themselves so as not to be thought useless. People needed a carpenter or a cook just like they needed a medic her mother had told her on more than once occasion. They couldn't all be heroes, but at least they would all be alive. She turned to see Effie watching her closely, silently waiting.

"Effie?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to take me out on patrol. Teach me everything you know."

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for all the support on this new project. The next chapter will step on the accelerator a bit:) I always enjoy your reviews!


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